Kathokachaba is an ode to Manipuri dance-guru Padma Shri Oja Bipin Singh on his birth centenary year.
Oja Bipin’s Manipuri style intricately explores the vigorous technique of tāndava and the languid flow of lāsya in Manipuri dance. In Kathokachaba, elements of nṛtta and abhinaya as composed by Oja Bipin Singh will be performed along with a new piece choreographed by Oja Bipin’s grand-disciple Debanjali Biswas.
Debanjali Biswas has received training in Manipuri, Mridang Vadan and Thang-ta over 25 years. She began her tutelage with Smt. Poushali Chatterjee in Oja Bipin Singh’s style and has been expanding her practice with Padma Shri Guru Darshana Jhaveri, Prof. Sruti Bandopadhyay, Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi and Oja Ranjit Chingtham. Debanjali is a co-director at the performance collaborative Mitrādheya and a scholar of cultural anthropology.